Hasta La Gadget!

iFixit’s been on something of an Apple tear lately — just a day after ripping into the barely-repairable new 13-inch MacBook Pro (not to mention the new nano and touch), the site has gotten its hands on — and into — the new Mac Mini. Unlike like the shiny new notebook, however, the diminutive desktop was apparently a pleasure to open up and put back together again, scoring an eight out of 10 on the repairability front and altogether forgoing the site’s use of adorable kittens. The Mini gets good marks for upgradable RAM and drives and a general lack of glue and proprietary screws. Click on through the source link below to see the Intel 2.5 GHz dual-core i5 in all its glory.

Filed under: Desktops

iFixit opens up new Mac Mini, has no trouble putting it all back together again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 08:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just a day after introducing the iPad mini, a revised iMac, a 4th-generation iPad and a retooled Mac mini, the company is outing its Q4 2012 earnings — and it looks as if it has narrowly fell short of Wall Street estimates. Revenue was pegged at $36 billion (compared to estimates of $35.08 billion), with net profit at $8.2 billion. For the sake of comparison, the outfit’s fourth quarter of 2011 saw $28.27 billion in revenue alongside $6.62 billion net profit — at the time, those comically large numbers were actually not up to Wall Street’s comical expectations. If you’re looking for a quarter-over-quarter comparison, the company’s Q3 2012 report showed $35 billion in total revenue, with $8.8 billion in net profits.

The company is guiding for $52 billion in revenues for Q1 2013, while announcing that it sold 26.9 million iPhones (up from 17.01 million a year ago), 14 million iPads (up from 11.12 million) and 5 million Macs (up from 4.89 million) in this quarter. As for the waning iPod business? Predictably, it sold just 5.3 million of those, representing a 19 percent drop from the year-ago quarter. Naturally, the company is expecting its next earnings report to be the one that blows everyone away, with holiday sales — combined with a slew of new kit — to propel things leading into 2013. Apple also announced that shareholders that hold stock as of November 12th will pick up a $2.65 / share dividend.

As for other specifics, we’re told that gross margin was 40.0 percent compared to 40.3 percent in the year-ago quarter, while international sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue. Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, proudly boasted: “We’re pleased to have generated over $41 billion in net income and over $50 billion in operating cash flow in fiscal 2012. Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2013, we expect revenue of about $52 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $11.75.” As for the outfit’s current stash of on-hand cash? $121.3 billion. Yeah. The financial results call will get going at 5PM ET, and we’ll be liveblogging it right here!

Continue reading Apple Q4 2012 earnings: $36 billion in revenue, $8.2 billion net profit

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Apple

Apple Q4 2012 earnings: $36 billion in revenue, $8.2 billion net profit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mac users broad on their reading but short on time will be able to use hit “save-for-later” service Pocket on their OS X desktops from today, with the iOS and Android app getting ported across. A free download, Pocket for Mac positions itself as a digital clipboard and binder of sorts, with the new Mac client automatically synchronizing with your mobile devices. That means, if you come across a long article while you’re reading on your phone, you can save it for reading later on your desktop.

However, if you’re on your desktop and you see a recipe or list of directions that you might need access to later on, that can be synchronized over to your phone. If it’s sounding a little like Evernote then you’re probabyl not far wrong, though Pocket does come with prior integration into Flipboard, Twitter, Pulse, Zite, and around 300 other apps.

Once synchronized, content is available for offline reading; there’s also integrated sharing features, for Facebook, Twitter, and other services, and other organization tools. In fact, you can fire off clipped content straight into Evernote if you want to.

However, since the Pocket team grabbed the developer of Read Later for Instapaper to build Pocket for Mac, that means Read Later won’t be getting any more updates. Existing owners can update Read Later straight to Pocket; you can download it from the Mac App Store here [iTunes link].

Pocket for Mac released: Drag your reading list everywhere is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple’s event on Tuesday was fun. The company offered up a slew of hardware products for consumers to drool over, and it did a fine job of appealing to everyone from mobile customers to computer purchasers.

The iPad mini will undoubtedly be a fan favorite, as will the fourth-generation iPad. The new iMac is downright beautiful with a thinness that has yet to be matched. Even the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, which is admittedly expensive, should attract quite a few customers.

But the only part of the market that Apple didn’t touch at its event was the power segment. Apple had products for mobile customers and casual users. But what about those of us who need power and sophistication?

Apple has once again updated its Mac line without once mentioning the Mac Pro. That computer, which is used heavily in the corporate design world, hasn’t been updated in two years. And so far, it’s as if Apple doesn’t really care. In fact, the company has gone out of its way to ignore the computer while it attempts to wow us with its other products.

I’m starting to wonder if Apple hates the Mac Pro. For months now, we’ve been hearing whispers that a new version of the desktop was in the works, only to be disappointed when it goes missing at Apple’s many press events.

According to some reports earlier this year, Apple executives have promised an update. So far, however, there’s been no public explanation for why the computer has been ignored. I’m not saying that Apple has to update the Mac Pro today (though it would be nice), but I do believe that the company should at least provide an explanation.

“Should Mac Pro users ditch Apple and go buy a high-end PC?”

Right now, there are countless Mac Pro users that are stuck with an obsolete computer, not knowing what they need to do. Should they ditch Apple’s product and go buy a high-end PC? Should they wait Apple out to see if it updates the Mac Pro at some point soon? Apple, for some reason, doesn’t want to provide them with an answer.

Not providing them with an answer is a big mistake. Eventually, designers will need more power, and if Apple doesn’t allay some fears soon, they’ll go elsewhere. And when they go elsewhere, they might never come back.

It’s odd to me that the Mac Mini, a product that was largely ignored by Apple for so long, has received more updates in the past couple of years than the Mac Pro. The Mac Mini is a cheap product that likely has a razor-thin margin. The Mac Pro could be a cash cow for Apple.

And yet, here I sit, writing this on a Mac Pro, wondering why Apple doesn’t see things the way I do. Yes, I know Apple is successful and it has made many smart moves, but this time around, I think it’s making a mistake.

Mac Pro users are arguably Apple’s most loyal and trusted fans. They’re buying the company’s most expensive product, and in the past, acted as evangelists when there weren’t that many products worth drooling over. It’s about time Apple shows those folks some respect and delivers a new Mac Pro.

Apple hates the Mac Pro, doesn’t it? is written by Don Reisinger & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Skype has pushed out a new version for PC and Mac, v.6, which introduces Facebook Chat integration as well as Retina Display support for the OS X client. The updated VoIP and video calling app can now pull in Windows Live Messenger, Outlook.com, and Hotmail contacts, thanks to further Microsoft integration between its products, and in fact you no longer need a separate Skype account at all.

Instead, you can use your existing Facebook or Microsoft credentials to log in, and if you choose the latter then the various chat services Microsoft offers will instantly be supported too. Microsoft had already been talking up its Skype for Windows 8 app, completely redesigned to suit the Metro-style UI.

In the pipeline, meanwhile, is the ability to break out chat conversations into different windows so as to more easily monitor them on the Mac app; that’s already enabled in the PC version. There’ll also be the ability to make audio/video calls directly to Windows Live Messenger users from the Skype app, which Microsoft says is due in the “coming weeks.”

Skype is a free download, though there are premium services which you can pay for. Those include unlimited voice calls to landlines, group video chats for up to ten participants, and instant live-chat support from Skype itself.

Skype v.6 released: Retina support and Facebook/Live Messenger integration is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.